Mr. Farr, one of the inventors, has a medical condition which requires his legs be bandaged. Regularly the old bandages are removed and new bandages applied. The doctors and nurses use a pair of scissors to remove the bandages and instructed him how to remove the bandages himself. He found the use of scissors to be tedious and sometimes painful. Upon inquiry, he was informed by both doctors and nurses that scissors were the only instrument they were aware of suitable for removal. He thought there should be a better way.
Mr. Farr conceived of the idea of using a razor blade, but finding a way to make it safe proved difficult. He discovered there was a device for removing bandages from horses legs. The device consisted of two plastic handles glued together with a blade clamped between them. There is an extended portion, with a nose, in front of the blade for lifting the bandage to start the cut.
It was found the device would remove the bandages but the doctor objected to the device on several grounds including, the device could not be sterilized, also while satisfactory for the tough skin of a horses leg the device was unsatisfactory for removing bandages from a human, particularly if there were sore or tender portions under the bandages, another objection was the blade was not removable, further the handle was so shaped that manipulating the device would be difficult. The doctor informed Mr. Farr the device would be a great benefit to doctors, nurses and patients alike if he could invent a device which overcome these objections. Mr. Farr and Mr. Leatherman have accomplished this task.